A5078651116- Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis
- Marine Sponges and Natural Products
- Algal biology and biofuel production
- Seaweed-derived Bioactive Compounds
- Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Studies
- Chemical synthesis and alkaloids
- Synthetic Organic Chemistry Methods
- Marine Toxins and Detection Methods
- Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
- Carbohydrate Chemistry and Synthesis
- Plant biochemistry and biosynthesis
- Traditional and Medicinal Uses of Annonaceae
- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Echinoderm biology and ecology
- Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
- Biocrusts and Microbial Ecology
- Computational Drug Discovery Methods
- Alkaloids: synthesis and pharmacology
- Natural product bioactivities and synthesis
- Molecular spectroscopy and chirality
- Chemical Synthesis and Analysis
- Analytical Chemistry and Chromatography
- X-ray Diffraction in Crystallography
- Crystallization and Solubility Studies
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
2016-2025
University of California, San Diego
2016-2025
University of Montana
2013-2024
Center for Discovery
2019-2024
La Jolla Alcohol Research
2023
University of California System
2017-2020
Ningbo University
2018
Oregon State University
2003-2016
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
2006-2016
Institute of Marine Biotechnology
2014-2015
A wide variety of enzymatic pathways that produce specialized metabolites in bacteria, fungi and plants are known to be encoded biosynthetic gene clusters. Information about these clusters, is currently dispersed throughout the literature, making it difficult exploit. To facilitate consistent systematic deposition retrieval data on we propose Minimum a Biosynthetic Gene cluster (MIBiG) standard.
The chemical and biological diversity of the marine environment is immeasurable therefore an extraordinary resource for discovery new anticancer drugs. Recent technological methodologic advances in structure elucidation, organic synthesis, assay have resulted isolation clinical evaluation various novel agents. These compounds range structural class from simple linear peptides, such as dolastatin 10, to complex macrocyclic polyethers, halichondrin B; equally diverse are molecular modes action...
A major goal in natural product discovery programs is to rapidly dereplicate known entities from complex biological extracts. We demonstrate here that molecular networking, an approach organizes MS/MS data based on chemical similarity, a powerful complement traditional dereplication strategies. Successful with networks requires spectra of the mixture along standards, synthetic compounds, or well-characterized organisms, preferably organized into robust databases. This can accommodate...
Significance Natural products research seems to be at a critical juncture in terms of its relevance modern biological science. We have evaluated this landscape chemical diversity ask key questions, including the following. How has rate discovery new natural progressed over past 70 y? Has product structural novelty changed as function time? novel declined recent years? Does exploring taxonomic space afford an advantage compound discovery? Is it possible estimate how close we are describing...
Significance As global CO 2 levels rise and fossil fuel abundance decreases, the development of alternative fuels becomes increasingly imperative. Biologically derived fuels, specifically those from microalgae, are promising sources, but improvements throughout production process required to reduce cost. Increasing lipid yields in microalgae without compromising growth has great potential improve economic feasibility. We report that disrupting catabolism is a practical approach increase...
Computational approaches such as genome and metabolome mining are becoming essential to natural products (NPs) research. Consequently, a need exists for an automated structure-type classification system handle the massive amounts of data appearing NP structures. An ideal semantic ontology NPs should go beyond simple presence/absence chemical substructures, but also include taxonomy producing organism, nature biosynthetic pathway, and/or their biological properties. Thus, holistic automatic...
The filamentous cyanobacterial genus Moorea gen. nov., described here under the provisions of International Code Botanical Nomenclature, is a cosmopolitan pan-tropical group abundant in marine benthos. Members are photosynthetic (containing phycocyanin, phycoerythrin, allophycocyanin and chlorophyll a), but non-diazotrophic (lack heterocysts nitrogenase reductase genes). cells (discoid 25-80 µm wide) arranged long filaments (<10 cm length) often form extensive mats or blooms shallow water....
This report describes the first application of novel NMR-based machine learning tool "Small Molecule Accurate Recognition Technology" (SMART 2.0) for mixture analysis and subsequent accelerated discovery characterization new natural products. The concept was applied to extract a filamentous marine cyanobacterium known be prolific producer cytotoxic environmental
Abstract microbeMASST, a taxonomically informed mass spectrometry (MS) search tool, tackles limited microbial metabolite annotation in untargeted metabolomics experiments. Leveraging curated database of >60,000 monocultures, users can known and unknown MS/MS spectra link them to their respective producers via fragmentation patterns. Identification microbe-derived metabolites relative without priori knowledge will vastly enhance the understanding microorganisms’ role ecology human health.
Abstract Despite the increasing availability of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) community spectral libraries for untargeted metabolomics over past decade, majority acquired MS/MS spectra remain uninterpreted. To further aid in interpreting unannotated spectra, we created a nearest neighbor suspect library, consisting 87,916 annotated derived from hundreds millions originating published experiments. Entries this or “suspects,” were that could be linked molecular network to an spectrum....
ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTStructure of Curacin A, a Novel Antimitotic, Antiproliferative and Brine Shrimp Toxic Natural Product from the Marine Cyanobacterium Lyngbya majusculaWilliam H. Gerwick, Philip J. Proteau, Dale G. Nagle, Ernest Hamel, Andrei Blokhin, Doris L. SlateCite this: Org. Chem. 1994, 59, 6, 1243–1245Publication Date (Print):March 1, 1994Publication History Published online1 May 2002Published inissue 1 March...
Curacin A (1) is a potent cancer cell toxin obtained from strains of the tropical marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula found in Curaçao. Its structure unique that it contains sequential positioning thiazoline and cyclopropyl ring, exerts its toxicity through interaction with colchicine drug binding site on microtubules. series stable isotope-labeled precursors were fed to cultures curacin A-producing and, following NMR analysis, allowed determination metabolic origin all atoms natural...
Originally purified as a major lipid component of strain the cyanobacterium <i>Lyngbya majuscula</i> isolated in Curaçao, curacin A is potent inhibitor cell growth and mitosis, binding rapidly tightly at colchicine site tubulin. Because its molecular structure differs so greatly from that other inhibitors, we prepared series analogs to determine important structural features molecule. These modifications include reduction and<i>E</i>-to-<i>Z</i> transitions olefinic bonds 14-carbon side...
Pure natural products isolated from marine sponges, algae, and cyanobacteria were examined for antioxidant activity using a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) solution-based chemical assay 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) cellular-based assay. The DCFH system detects only antioxidants that penetrate cellular membranes. Potent identified the results each compared. algal metabolites cymopol (1), avrainvilleol (3), fragilamide (4), invertebrate constituent...
The lyngbyatoxins are potent skin irritants produced by Lyngbya majuscula and cause a condition known as "Swimmer's Itch" off Honolulu, HI. Reported is the molecular cloning of lyngbyatoxin (ltx) biosynthetic gene cluster from L. using strategy based on its predicted nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) assembly. spans 11.3 kilobase pairs encodes for two-module NRPS (LtxA), P450 monooxygenase (LtxB), an aromatic prenyltransferase (LtxC), oxidase/reductase protein (LtxD). LtxC was...
Coibamide A (1) is a new, potent antiproliferative depsipeptide which was isolated from marine Leptolyngbya cyanobacterium collected the Coiba National Park, Panama. The planar structure of 1 elucidated by combination NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Exhaustive 1D 2D included natural abundance 15N variable temperature experiments; spectrometry TOF-ESI-MSn FT-MSn experiments. Chemical degradation followed chiral HPLC- GC-MS analyses used to assign absolute configuration 1. This highly...
In all probability, natural selection began as ancient marine microorganisms were required to compete for limited resources. These pressures resulted in the evolution of diverse genetically encoded small molecules with a variety ecological and metabolic roles. Remarkably, many these same biologically active have potential utility modern medicine biomedical research. The most promising products often derive from organisms richly populated by associated (e.g., sponges ascidians), there is...